Is There a Water Disaster Coming Your Way?

water, faucet, clean water



What could be so important that I just HAD to write about your water storage efforts again?  Is our water supply seriously threatened? Is there a water crisis coming to a city near you? Is the U.S. about to experience a disaster that will affect your access to water? Once again I find myself struggling to write a particular article—not because of the complexity of the topic, but because I don’t want to cause any alarm, just some proactive behavior. It’s my hope that once you’re finished reading this little diddy, you’ll understand why I stepped way outside of my typical modus operandi and decided to share this information—and the lack thereof—with you today about water.

Is this a Water Warning?

waterTypically when I write about something, especially when it resembles a warning, I’ve done interviews, read dozens of articles, and reached out to experts for clarification when necessary in order to solidify my information. The last thing in the world I ever want to do is be the source of one of those ridiculous stories that gets people all in a dither and panicking, only to find that the origins of such information were ludicrous. But today’s article has proven to be significantly more challenging that any I’ve written before because I have not been able to get a single official to go on the record. And worse, I’ve not even been able to get any of my fellow self-reliant-minded peers to go on the record as well. Normally, when that happens, I refuse to publish the story, but this time I made an exception. I’ll share with you why I’ve made the exception and what it is that has me a bit concerned right now, but understand that I do so accompanied by the earnest request that you read this article with a grain of salt. Let your Spiritual Preparedness be your compass on this matter; do a gut check, if you will, and then pay attention to what your intuition is telling you. If you are prompted to act on this information, then I encourage you to do so promptly, but without haste or mayhem. Remember, peaceful preparedness has its place even in the midst of a known crisis, let alone an unconfirmed one. waterAs you know, I’m a big believer in the 10 Principles of Preparedness; more specifically, I’m a big believer in the prioritization of the 10 Principles. I believe that if you don’t focus on self-reliance in a balanced manner you’ll find yourself facing gaping holes in your daily needs and essentials when faced with a serious crisis. When it comes being prepared with sufficient supplies of water and the resources needed to make the water safe to use and consume, water comes in as the 7th Principle of Preparedness. However, keep in mind that WATER also comes into play with our Physical (3rd), Medical (4th) , Clothing (5th), Food (8th), and even the Financial (9th) Principle of Preparedness. There are only 3 Principles of Preparedness out of 10 that don’t rely on water in any way.  Thus I’d say that if there was a threat to our safe water supplies in this nation, we’d feel the pain of such an inconvenience to say the least; and it’s also very likely that millions of us could be knocked on our keister.

My Water Dilemma

waterSo here’s my dilemma. I’ve been seeing a lot of news articles coming from around the world (via my set Google Alerts) reporting problems of water supplies. So perhaps that’s why I’ve had “water on the brain,” so to speak. But two weeks ago I was struck with something that a friend of mine said who’s retired from military service. He specifically would NOT tell me anything more than “be sure you have plenty of water and soon.” He adamantly refused to tell me any reason why he would say such a thing and in fact he seemed to regret having told me anything in the first place. O.K. one instance combined with my recent obsession with water does not a crisis make. But… Less than 2 days later I was contacted by a reader telling me something very similar. This reader was also very abbreviated in the words used, but I could tell that they were being very earnest in their belief that we might face a crisis of water access in the near future. O.K. Well, you know how easily rumors get started anywhere, but even more so in the preparedness community. So I just tucked away what I had heard and decided to do some actual fact finding. I mean really, I’m just some nobody in Orem, UT and yet this same bit of news made it’s way to me twice in 3 days. Surely it’s not because of who I am but rather it had to be a manifestation of how much information there was available out there with everyone fooling themselves into thinking that they were the world’s best keeper of secrets. waterI e-mailed, I called, and visited and I surfed the internet so much I started to smell like the ocean.  I can only explain my results with one word—dumbfounded. I was completely dumfounded that I could not get any more information than what I had. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I can tell you that I’ve NEVER been met with such resistance to providing me with information. One person exclaimed that just by entertaining the conversation with me they could end up in Federal prison! Seriously?? That’s a bit melodramatic even for me. Usually the so-called secrets better resemble that line in front of the stop sign that suggests that you stop your car. We all know that none of us actually stops the car right there. We creep further out so we can see better, right? Well, up until this subject, I’ve been able to creep quite a ways out, but I was greeted with some kind of super alloy. I couldn’t breech it no matter what I did.  But then something significant struck me. On about the 5th day of researching and getting nowhere, it occurred to me that NO ONE mentioned anything else other than a concern for water supplies. Suddenly, what they were saying wasn’t as important as what they were NOT saying. Not one word was uttered about gold, food, cash, or gasoline—in spite of the threat of seeing it at $5 a gallon all over the U.S. any time now. Everyone was unanimous that the problem would be with W-A-T-E-R and I was constantly told “let me put it this way, just make sure you have plenty of it on hand.” Doesn’t that strike you as odd that it would consistently be about water?  (One muted informant did throw me a bone and stress that the water should be covered and preferably inside a shelter.) waterI’m sure you’ve heard the terms “confidential” or “top secret” or “need to know.” But what you may not be familiar with is what is called “the black hole” of intelligence, meaning that information goes in, but it is never disseminated in it’s entirety to the outside. I couldn’t help but feel like that’s what kind of information I had stumbled upon. Federal agents, intelligence, military, university professors, meteorologists, Federal government and local government officials simply would not give me anything else to go on; and yet all but ONE of them concurred that a concern about water is founded—there is indeed something there—but they would then abruptly end the conversation with a sincere plea that it should not be discussed any further. So, what’s a prepper to do? Like the saying goes, “prepare for the worst and pray for the best.” I can tell you what I’m going to do in light of this NONinformation. I’m going to store MORE water and I suggest that you do the same too without delay. What’s the worst that can happen? You’ll need the water, but have it? Or “nothing happens and you’ve got a lot of water stored.” Oh darn. How dreadful a predicament to have to endure. I’m not selling water folks. There’s absolutely NO possible agenda here in trying to encourage you to get on board with your water needs--now.  So don’t just sit there and wonder what might happen. You can throw your life to chance or you can navigate it based on choice. waterHaving a minimum of one gallon, per person (regardless of their age), per day. I would suggest that you have at least 90 days. This is not a sacrifice folks in view of the possible alternatives; and even for those of you who would grumble at me for suggesting you take such measures now, you have to admit that it could be a lot worse, right? So, if this article sets off any of your internal alarms, or it rings true to you on any level, then please put those alarms at ease by storing sufficient water for your family as well as tools with which to ensure that your water is usable and consumable. (I’m pleased with the AquaMira products thus far and wouldn’t hesitate to bet my life on them). You’ll also want to be sure that you have a way to collect and filter rain water. (And yes, I know that there are so-called laws which claim that it’s illegal to collect rainwater. I’m not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV, but I can assure you that I personally would not give any credence to such “laws” in the midst of an emergency.) Understand that a serious interruption in water supplies will inevitably bring about a series of domino effects. Remember, history shows us that wars which lasted for years originated over water rights. Countless food products rely on water in their recipes and in their ability to manufacture them along with countless other consumer products we use everyday. Look at what the Texas drought has done to the beef market this year and that’s just in one area. Improper sanitation practices brought on by a lack of water could have catastrophic effects on the health of everyone within a 50 mile radius. And so on and so forth. waterWell, that's all I've got for you on this, Folks. But please, unlike the silly narrators at the end of each "Doomsday Preppers" segment, please don’t underestimate the value of water in your life and don’t ignore any intuition or prompting you may have to beef up your water supplies and necessary tools. So, now for the magic question… Will you get more prepared in the Water Preparedness Principle? Please? Oh yeah, and pass it on. Possible Causes of an Interruption of National Water Supplies: 1-      Drought—particularly in the desert areas of the U.S. or even in the heartland areas of the U.S. water2-      Earthquake of 6.8-8.2 along the New Madrid fault line.—this would cause a cascading collapsed of the domes below ground which hold water supplies OR which could cause large cavernous areas below sea level that would be a new repository for water (seeking its lowest levels) 3-      Oil and gas pressure building up (in large part due to fracking) causing such to contaminate key water supplies. 4-      A coronal mass ejection which could render the temperature of the earth in excess of 120 and 145 degrees even for a short period of time which would subsequently cause a massive evaporation of water supplies. 5-      Dr. Michael Hoffman, a leading expert on sunspots and specifically the X and M class of solar flares is certain that we’ll not be able to avoid one for much longer. 6-      Massive water infrastructure failure. We’re presently leaking billions of gallons of raw sewage into our water today and we have 100 times as many dams and levees (which are seriously compromised) than we have inspectors. 7-      Act of war initiated by poisoning our water supplies with nuclear or biological weapons. Now might be a GREAT time for you to take on one of our 2012 Preparedness Pro Challenges—and remember, there’s a GREAT grand prize to be awarded thanks to the folks at Humless, along with a slew of other great prizes! See here for all of the details and a great list of challenges for you and your family to try!  




Are you no longer a fan of Big Berkey?

I love my big shiny Berkey, but I would never use it to filter flood water or river water and certainly not Hurricane Katrina type of water that would have raw sewage in it. In fact, I will use my Berkey AFTER I've done the initial filtration and purification.

I think you are so right about water preparedness. I live in a small town and usually when the electricity goes out there is enough water in the water tower to keep pressure up so one can run a couple pitchers & buckets of water. However, the last time the power was out there was no water. Maybe the tower had been emptied for some reason, I don't know. Anyway the pumps are run on electricity and if it's out for any length of time we won't have water unless we have some saved. There is nothing that makes you as thirsty as turning on the tap & there's no water. The place with the most reliable non-electric source of water that I know of is on my brother's farm about 35 miles away. There are so many natural, clean springs that a creek starts on his place. I guess that's where I'd want to be if we were to face a lengthy period of time without electricity or running water. Will there be a way to get there? Who knows, since disasters can come in all shapes and forms.

"There is nothing that makes you as thirsty as turning on the tap & there's no water"--boy, isn't that the truth!

I have actually had a concern about this for awhile as I live in central Oklahoma and have watched our local lake (used for city water) dry up to the point I think it is completely gone. They are talking about getting water from the next town over and they don't have it to give. I'm feeling my intuitive side screaming at me to store it and so I am. I am driving hubby nuts with this but he seems to be sharing the same concern. We got a rainbarrel and are just hoping for rain to fill it and am using empty 2 liter bottles rinsed/bleached to fill with water. I really need to do more of this though as I feel like I am really behind. We are still going through a drought and the summer last year we broke records with it being over 100 for way too long it was brutal. No winter really and so I fear this summer. < sorry for the length of this.

The EPA states that there are 38 states who are at risk of running out of water. California and TX and Iowa have already declared a water supply emergency.

@Felis I have two 50 gallon rain barrels that fill with an inch of rain falling on half my roof. I'm in high desert so we tend to get a lot of rain and then none. I do want to get 2 more rain barrels to take advantage of spring rains. Don't worry about storing in water in soda bottles. I stored it that way for over 2 years, city water no bleach and kept them in a cool, dark place. Other than tasting a little flat they worked great. Yes, I was lazy and I did not change out that water every 6 months. No sickness of any sort developed. I dod keep a couple of pitchers on hand for re-oxegenating the water by pouring water between them.

Just for the record, it's a big ole pain in the fanny myth that you have to change out your water every six months. We do it once every 4 or 5 years.

Thank you for saying that! I tell people all the time (my mother mostly) that we are not going to die if we store our water for more than a year! Thanks also for this very informative and fire lighting (as in under one's buttocks) article. It is true that information that needs to be heard is manifested through us. Just yesterday I had a friend send me an article about the country's failing water infrastructure. Eye opening but not surprising.


In the future, please do not post comments in all caps as it will be removed. Thank you.

Oh muffins, I'm in good shape for water stored for myself but my non-prepping freinds and relatives might have enough drinking water for a day or two. I don't know if it is relevant but the Washington Examiner had an article about water service tripling in price this year due to failing infrastructure. The article was long in alarmism and short in details. Sounds like something out of Alas Babylon.
As you say water and the barrels won't spoil, and if you have a local soda bottling plant you might be able to get some food grade 50-60 gallon barrels at a good price. Might as well grab another barrel, a few more coffee filters, cheese cloth, bleach and hope you are wrong. Thankfully I already have 2 gravity filters and a Berkey back pack filter for the BOB.

I live 15 miles southeast of Los Angeles, California- and they're saying the same thing about "old pipes" and the need to replace them.

They've already hiked our rates once.

Thanks for that info.

I have a small pond that I plan on using for water. I couldn't help notice you said one person mentioned that the water needs to be stored in a shelter. What storage is best to protect the water from an EMP and how long is pond water not drinkable?

An EMP wont' make your water undrinkable, but a dirty bomb, biological weapon or a nuclear accident will. We store a lot of our water in the basement, under beds, behind couches, and at the back of closets. All of those methods will protect it from a nuclear attack assuming you're far enough out from the center of the attack, which if you aren't, you won't have time to worry about where your water is as you'll be ushered quickly to make the next choir practice time with the angels. :-)

I like the idea of calling my local bottling plant and inquiring about barrels. Do you think they would be too heavy to store in an apartment? I live on the third floor, and it wouldn't be a good thing if they fell through the floor. LOL!!

If you store them in the corners where there's reinforcments, you should be ok or you can go with more of the smaller sizes of barrels.

Just wanted to mention, for those of you who have Kroger grocery stores in your area, they have a sale on water this week with your Kroger card. Their brand of water, 32 pack (16.9 oz bottles) for $3.77. I don't know if it's every Kroger, but it was in the weekly circular here in central Virginia.
I had planned on buying a few anyway, but now I think I'll be buying more than "a few". Thanks for the head's up, Kellene. And, like you said, if it proves to be a fluke and nothing happens, I haven't lost anything anyway, just gained more water to make it to my 1 year goal.

Do you know you can "can" water? If you have jars, preferably canning jars with 2 part lids (rings and flats). Have your jars hot. I stick mine in the oven on warm and start my water boiling. Let it boil for 5 minutes, pour in a hot jar, put on a hot lid, screw on the ring, and set aside. You will hear the pings in a little while when the jars seal. Even if you never have to use the water, it keeps your jars clean till you need them for canning or storing something else. You can always boil the water again if it sets for a long time, or run it thru your berkey filter, or water plants or pets.

Excellent post. I appreciate that you give a full disclaimer at beginning, but know that most readers are not as wired in as you are and look to you for verifiable info as well as your "Spidey Sense"!!. The choice is theirs to act or not, but you have done your job in conveying this potential disaster. The list of 7 potential causes was icing on the cake. This is what preparedness is all about--knowing and preparing for a number of threats. If the worst result of this article is people stock up on more potable water, good for all of us! Keep up the great work!

I live in a rural area with well water. Does anyone know of a system that will permit me to have access to the well water when the power is off? Thanks.

This is a handy tool, but it's simply not made for "worst case scenario" kind of water. Keep that in mind folks.

My husband and I have a very good underground well. We are in the process of building solar panels to get our farm off the grid. The well will be the first to be connected.

Boy, talking about lighting a fire under my feet. Although I have lots of 2 ltrs filled, I could use a couple of barrels and need to do it pronto.

Did I miss your article on which filtering systems you like best or is it still upcoming?

I've been storing water here and there for a year. I still don't have enough so I guess I had better get my rear in gear. I'm in Kentucky so we will be affected by the New Madrid earthquake (we have small quakes here from time to time already) Plus there's another fault system that stems from the New Madrid called Rough Creek Fault that runs right through Kentucky. We buy 4 gallon bottles of water at SAM's club all the time and use them. When the bottles are empty, I fill them with tap water and seal them back up with plastic wrap and lots of packing tape. Plus I refill soda bottles when we have them and Juicy Juice bottles. I've got bottles stashed all over the house along with other supplies. I think I'm going to have to make a list of where everything is stashed so I'll know where it is when I need it. Yes, I think I will. I just said that as a joke, but now I'm going to do it. :-) Lookathere. I had a good idea. :-)

I'm listening to Glenn Beck right now and he just said water bills will be increasing by at least 3 times. Looks like you're right on the money Kellene! I need to get some rain barrels so I'll be able to water my garden on the cheap ...

I saw on the show you have 50 gallon drums of water. Did you buy these filled? If not, how can I fill containers of water in my home to store for extended periods of time without them becoming moldy, stale, etc? I have been buying bottled water and gallon jugs but I was curious if I could be storing water from my own home rather than purchasing it. This would be MUCH more cost effective and put to good use all these cleaned out old plastic gallon milk jugs and 5 gallon buckets.
Thank you
PS. I love your blog I print all of it and put into my binder of stuff to know when an 'oh crap' situation occurs. You rock! I LOVE seeing another woman who is so dedicated to prepping such as myself. :)

Yeah, we bought them out of Niagra Falls area, filled with the water from the Falls. Boy, the shipping on those was a killer! :-)

However, if you'd like to do it yourself, I would suggest running a hose from the laundry room and filling them up where you want them to end up. Moving those buggers is no easy feat even with a dolly. P.S. remember to get one of those cheap siphon pumps that are usually sold by the same persons selling the water barrels.

Also, when it comes to storing water for cooking and drinking, I would not cut corners in using used barrels or buckets, etc. Plastic absorbs SO much and it's nearly impossible to get out.

Just started getting your blog. Thanks for the infromation. We have ramped up our water storage. Are you about ready to give us part 2 of the water filter story so we can make a choice? By the way just finished canning 6 lbs of butter.

Google "water rights" or "rights to water in United States". Eye opener. At a recent UN conference:
In abstaining from the vote on the Resolution, the representative of the United States asserted that there was no “right to water and sanitation” in an international legal sense, as described by the Resolution. According to a UN Press Release detailing the statements made by various countries, the U.S. representative expressed “regret that the text had diverted the Assembly from the serious international efforts under way to promote greater coordination on water and sanitation issues” and opined that the Resolution “attempted to take a short cut around the serious work of formulating, articulating and upholding universal rights.” The U.S. representative also stated that the Resolution “had not been drafted in a transparent, inclusive manner, and neither the Assembly, nor the Geneva process had yet considered fully the legal implications of a declared right to water.”

Easy, they are all concerned about an EMP attack, either from nature or from man. This would turn off the electricity, with which 90%+ of our nation's water is moved from storage to homes. Very simple.

It should be noted that in the same exact time frame the author mentions, there has been a ramp-up on EMP stories in the media. Put two and two together, what do you get? Massive death, starvation, dehydration I suppose, and burned out empty cities which have all outgrown their usefulness long ago. Is anyone going to cry for Detroit? South Central LA? They will be gone first along with countless other ant-hills of humanity, and coincidentally, the least able to deal with this problem. Enjoy.

Yes, I for one would indeed cry for anyone lost to a disaster.

Yes, very nice. However, I was talking about the cities. The sprawling cement and steel, the pollution, the rust, the effect these places have on the humans who live there. I for one could do without the dehumanizing effects of mass population centers on our fellow human beings. We are not meant to live as wage or welfare slaves to some concrete god, gathered together and easily enslaved and manipulated by greedy powers.

There are some good how-to you tube videos on how to make a PVC hand pump for accessing water from a well. I recently purchased the materials to make one. The cost will run you around $120.

Thanks, that is the most reasonable price I have heard. I will check it out.

Here in the deep south we have always breen privy to great well water. However, just recently, the oil companies have moved in to start fracking. I feel like this is the beginning of the end to our great water supply.
You are right to fear a water shortage. Fracking is just one of the many threats we face.
Thanks for reminding us to keep putting up this liquid gold.

I read in Orion magazine, that this is happening all over the U.S.:

the damn oil companies are threatening our good water supplies all over the country.

Interestingly, I am dealing with this right now LOL...Froze up again ((((sigh)))).
We have lived off the grid for years now and so I know the day to day struggles in dealing with water. Our well is too deep for a hand pump and we also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a solar well system isn't strong enough to pump the water. We will be exploring a diesel generator for the well only, that we could run recyled oil through. We also have found several springs on our property that we will try and develop. We run livestock so water is a constant issue. That said, I wouldn't trade it for the easy life :)

The Humless Generator would work powerfully enough to pump your well and it's quiet and you can recharge it with the solar panels you've got, or a hand crank, or a windmill attachment. At least it would be quiet and you wouldn't draw any unnecessary attention to yourself.

I agree, I wouldn't trade your life for a so-called "safe" one any day, any way.

We currently run 2 generators, but both are gas powered. We'd like to have a "plan C" in case we don't have access to fuel. We are looking into a smaller windmill, but will need a new inverter I'm told.

Miss Kellene, May I ask? Do you use bleach in your stored tap water, say in the 2 liter size bottles?

Thank You For Your Time,

Not when it's tap water, I don't. But I might be inclined to use it once I remove the water from the storage bins as an extra measure.

Excellent! Thank You!

I read an article today about the Ogallala Aquifer and how it is drying up quickly. in the article it suggests when this drys up the price of of water can go up as much as 3 -5x. It further suggested the Midwest would be in trouble and could turn into the dust bowl. I couldn't agree more to stock up on water as much as possible. is the link to one of the articles. Not sure if I am allowed to post links to other articles. If not I apologize.

Just my 2 cents


Just my 2 cents

I have posted this before. I have water stored outside my home I did not want my supply far away from me. I fill my barrels with water add 1 cup of clorax to each. Reseal them then we covered them with black plastic and we store mowers lladders or what ever around them. Out of site out of mine. The water was perfect after 5 years when I had them stored at our barn. We have since moved them closer to home.

I have water stored also in the emergency boxes(Mylar bags inside) I put just a couple of drops of clorax in each before I seal them. Good to go.

a blog that I occasionally read, had a post regarding the "coming dustbowl" Interesting read.

Hi Thankyou for all your advice on your blog ,website and tv. I'm a beginner, could you tell me what brand generator you use for a hand mixer? Also when preserving cheese with wax what is the cheesecloth for? TYVM! Margie.

Humless Solar Generator. If you put in the code "humless" on the Five Star Preparednes site at checkout, you'll get $100 off--good through Feb 29th only though. Humless is making some more changes to their pricing and such.

I live close to the only river in NM that is not dammed, yesterday I found out that the powers that be are planning on damming it to pipe water over the Continental Divide to Texas, incredible timing for your alert message.
Do the barrels have to be off the ground level, even in a shed with partial cement bottom? Also, do you know of a filter that will work on river water? Thanks so much for all you do.

No, barrels do not need to be up off the ground. Check out the "myth busters" tab at the top of the page here for clarification on the rumor. Aquapail is made for "worst case scenario water." I would trust anything created by AquaMira as they are a significant player in the international water industry including areas that have nothing but sewage infested water.

Thank you for tying up the loose ends ie water storage that's been floating around in my head. "My gut" has been bugging me for a while and you have connected the dots for me. We are sooo far behind on this level and it is of deep concern to me... not so much for hubby:( We live in an area that has freezing cold winters (usually) and hot summers so have you addressed how to properly store and protect outside water like in the rain barrels? If you have and I missed it, I'm sorry.
Kellene, you are truly a God send for me... I was born during WW2, dust bowl, depression, era and grew up hearing how hard life was for everyone plus the stories passed down about the New Madrid earthquake 200 years ago. They didn't have access to this kind of information but we do and to not prepare for "the worst and hope for the best" is at best, reckless. Your cool headed, common sense approach makes your Blog so "shareable" with people who are not quite up to par, yet.
You were adorable on Foxnews; cool, calm and collected! :)

The heavy duty water barrels can handle freezing temperatures above zero, but you can't fill them up all the way to make room for the freezing expansion. It's hard on your barrels and you may see decomposition after a few years, but it is possible to store it outside. However, you've GOT to have some water inside in the event that there's a biological, nuclear, or pandemic threat to your water.

Thanks for the very, very kind words. I do SO appreciate it!

Wanted to share more on the Kroger water sale...I went to Walmart first, before going to Kroger, and as Wally World likes to compete with everyone so well, their Great Value drinking water dropped in price...35 pack 16.9 oz bottles for $3.68.

Just so you know my price point for water like that is $1.50. And yes, it can be found at that price. So get what you absolutely need and then keep your eyes open for better sales.

@Kellene But you see, I'm not a mega awesome couponer like you... yet *grin*. I will definitely keep my eyes out for better sales, but for now it was the best deal I could find in response to the article. Gonna try to pick up a few of those food grade barrels from craigslist this I feel like I'm on my way to being better prepared!
By the way, I told my hubby that you are my new "addiction"...I just can't get enough of all the great information, tips and tricks you've got here on this blog! My list of things I want keeps getting longer...cheese wax, canning jars, canning jar attachment, pressure cooker, solar oven...already have a food saver that was given to me by my dad, but I've never used it. Thanks so much for all you've written!

Ah, that was a good smile and giggle you gave me this morning. :-)

Wish I had known about the $100 Humless discount, Scott just shipped our Humless this week.
Long time reader.

Everyone has received that price break on the Humless for the last 2 months.

I'm a single 32yo male living in a one bedroom apartment. Not an ideal place to store 90+ gallons of water. It may even be a lease violation. What do you suggest in a situation like this?

I would definitely make sure you have a water bob and I'd store water in small containers anywhere and everywhere you can put them. Containers such a thick walled water containers as well as clean soda pop bottles. Under the bed, back of the closet, behind the sofa, behind the entertainment center. When you're in such a small space like that you need to think about storing UP. So I'd invest in some shelves you can put up high to store non-breakable items. A year's supply of food will store under a space as small as a twin bed; Water, on the other hand takes nearly triple that amount of space using the very low ball number of 1 gallon of water per person, per day. And finally, I would suggest that you invest heavily in water treatment/filtration tools AND the ability to collect rain water if needed. There may be laws stupidly attempting to outlaw rain water collection, but I strongly suspect that if you come to a time where you need that, it will be low on the totem pole for prosecution.

I just ordered several waterbob products. As long as our water supply isnt tainted I will be able to fill them before we lose water. I have pruchased 1 per person in my household. They will hold up to 100 gallons each. This is a back up plan for my water storage. Hopefully I will be able to fill them proir to tainted water supplies and will be able to use this water verse the bottled water we have stored. I will need those if we have to bug out.

The waterbobs definitely do fill up in less than 15 minutes as shown on TV. I'd make sure that I have them stored in a cupboard in each of my bathrooms so that if there is an alarming bit of news, I don't have to hunt for them and can simply slip into action. Having the waterbob is also a good way of clogging the drain in your tub in the event that sewage functionality fails and sewage attempts to come back up through the drain.

Thanks Kellene!
Great article on water. I wonder how easy it could be to control the sheeple if water became rationed and scarce. No growing your own garden. Gov't in total control. They say water fees will go up in anticipation of upgrading the old water pipes and system. Just like Chu (Dept Transportation) said today " They want to wean us off oil, so gasoline will be going higher. Water going higher may prevent many from having the big green lawn in addition to being thirsty. It will be interesting to see what happens with what little info you can obtain about water problems. Hope it's not an EMP or Solar flare.
Thanks for all you do.

My husband just gave me a top off a Snapple bottle that has interesting " true facts" on the inside of the lid. Our lid said " Only 2 % of the world's water is fresh". Wow! And now I see this blog !!! Iran and Israel are on a razor thin edge now - Iran has nuclear capabilities and would like nothing more than wiping Israel (and the United States) off the map. Besides water, stock up on the Potassium Iodide tabs (sold over the counter) to help protect the body in event of a nuclear disaster. Kelleen is correct - storing your water inside your home will help protect it from biological or nuclear fallout.

Newbie here. Where do you buy your large water storage containers? And, where do you buy your rain barrels? Thank you.

You can easily find them at ranch and feed supply stores (IFA stores). Some home improvement stores carry them as well. Here in Utah, I'm spoiled because I can get them at my local grocery store, Macey's. I'd also keep an eye out on Craigs List and your local classifieds as well. In the meantime, keep filling up those used 2 liter bottles of soda and purchasing bottled water when it's really dirt cheap. I also keep TEN of the water bottles on hand (the 5 gallon ones you get at the grocery store and refill them with filtered/purified water.) We drink that water exclusively every day.

Check out Sam's Club and online for 55 gallon food grade water storage barrels, which include water siphons (and usually free shipping). Fast service - great products. Water storage barrels have a hole with cap to put water in - not like an open 55 gallon drum that you can remove the lid from. Could also be jerry rigged to use as rain water storage barrels with a funnel spout. Remember that water is very heavy- and a 55 gallon barrel full of water is not easily moveable (make sure you've got it where you want it before you fill it.......)

Thanks for this article. I will be passing it along to friends and family.
However, I just have to say that your reasons 2 & 3 are flaky. There are no 'domes' where water is stored. There will be no collapse.
Also, fracking will never contaminate significant amounts of ground water in spite of what is put out by uninformed writers.

I think you might enjoy looking at some great books on geology which show some of the interesting effects that the New Madrid earthquake had on the formed domes. And how in the world can you say there will be no collapse? Earthquakes don't have boundaries such as you're suggesting.

Sorry, but your comment on fracking makes it sound like you've been drinking the kool-aid. Yikes. Have you not read the reports put out by actual scientists?? Are you not familiar with the 2 large lawsuits that are presently going on because of fracking contaminating the water of the towns and making people ill?

Yes I have read the reports by 'actual scientists'. They are full of hot air. I work in the energy industry and know a little about the subject. This huge dust up about fracking is such incredible garbage. There are local issues related to improperly done work, but the idea that it will destroy our ground water in wide areas is just not supportable. It is conceivable that fracking could trigger fault movement (earthquake) if done at just the wrong time in just the wrong place, but even that is a stretch.
Likewise, groundwater that we use for drinking and irrigating comes from huge layers of porous rock that extend for many miles. There may or may not be domes here and there but they are not critical to supply. If (when) the New Madrid fault lets go the fresh water layer of rock will be fractured badly, which might or might not affect supply. If such a thing happened a much bigger problem would be the destruction of all the wells currently drilled into the aquifer.
I think much bigger problems are depletion by over pumping of slow filling aquifers such as the Ogallala or some of the huge droughts we have had lately.

FYI: Coronal Mass Ejections won't impart a thermal pulse (overheating atmosphere) - but can cause particularly strong aurorae in large regions around Earth's magnetic poles.
Coronal mass ejections, along with solar flares of other origin, can disrupt radio transmissions and cause damage to satellites and electrical transmission line facilities, resulting in potentially massive and long-lasting power outages.

Thanks for the replies. I am a Costco member, so I will check them out. I had no idea they had them! I will try to find a ranch and feed supply store in this area. I am just looking for the best price on these things. If I can find them locally (Marietta Ga area) I will save on the shipping costs.

Wednesday I contacted my county's water company to see if they were planning on upping our water bill. The woman I spoke with is the Customer Relations officer for Chesterfield County Public Utilities. I told her about the article in the Washington Examiner (one of your FB posts) and she asked for the web address, stating that they are linked with AWWA and should have gotten the report by now. She told me there is a proposal being reviewed this month that would raise our water bills by about $4.00 in June. She later called me back after reading the article and left a message, which I recorded and then typed out for you to read:
“Hi this message is for Rebecca (my last name). This is Courtney Battista with Chesterfield Utilities calling you back from yesterday about the website. I found it online and, um, I was just gonna to talk to you a little bit about that. What they're referring to there is older communities such as, like, New York and, uh, places that are hundreds of years old. Chesterfield County is relatively young (she laughs) so that's what these articles are referring to. Um, if you wanna talk more about the proposed rate increase, uh, give me a call back and I can put you in touch with our director...assistant director of finance administration.”

I do not believe for one minute that we won't be impacted like those "older communities". We may not have to deal with a double or tripled price hike in the immediate future, but at some point we will. The "older communities" won't be able to foot the bill for long on their own.
Just my two cents on her statement.

Here are my thoughts on the matter. I believe that the gas prices going up, the water prices going up, and the food prices going up so dramatically are intentional manipulations in order to bring more and more Americans to their knees so that they lose their "fire in the belly" of fighting back. This strategy is right out of the Marxist playbook, Communist Manifesto. You can't conquer that which you don't subdue first.

The only thing I can think of that would happen where water would need to be protected in all areas of the country would be the Yellowstone Caldera blowing. The ash fallout would be tremendous and almost all encompassing, not to mention overwhelming water pumps and filters.

It's definitely a brain teaser of a scenario. My husband and I have discussed it at length and I continue to do research on the matter, but I"m still coming up with that particular aspect being isolated. Definitely weird!

I agree with you...Saul Alinsky's plan is in play! God help us! There are still a few of us with that fire, but sadly we are not the majority....

No matter what we should have a bit of water stashed a way for bad times. I mean we store food that we eat every day and I am assuming we are staying close to the same calorie count as preppers. So why wouldn't look at storing water be the same way? We grow gardens and can to have good wholesome food through the year. Why not treat water just the same as food? Why do we see water different than food? As a prepper having a couple hundred pounds of grain is no big deal. Heck that's just 4 or 5 buckets. Wouldn't even cover a thrid of a standard shipping pallet. But say storing water in 55-60 gallon barrels and everything changes. Why? A water main breaks, perhaps becuase of age and the media goes into ovedrive and folks turn into animals to get water and most of them had well over 30 gallons stored via the hot water tank. As John Wayne said "Life is tough. It's a lot tougher if you are stupid!" Please don't be stupid....

I think i'm well(!) prepared waterwise, but wonder what could compromise my outside stored water? Most of it is in tightly closed plastic barrels or pallet tanks stored under silver tarps. Do i need to get a metal hoop house for it? If so, Why?

My only concern with all of these people who stone-walled you is that it sounds like some of them "kept silent" with you in order to heighten the drama-- "I'm not saying a word so as to scare her", sort of thing; or: "I'm in the know, and she's not", etc.

Did you get that feeling from any of these people?

If that's the impression you're getting then I would suggest it's as a result of flawed writing on my part. With only 1 exception, everyone I spoke to was taking this issue very, very seriously. It's interesting to note that since I posted this article, I've had a half a dozen e-mails come to me from other persons "in the know" and a seasoned prepper who's retired military intelligence--their messages have only confirmed that following my gut in writing this article were well-founded. I apologize for any "cloak and dagger/melodramatic" tone that may come across here as it's not my intention.

Seems a Big Berkey water filter and swimming pool solves the water issue. My apologies if somebody already mentioned this. I read a lot of the posts but not all. Anyway, the pool can be replenished by rain and easily covered if needed. Even with no rain we figure the pool will supply my wife and I with all our water needs for many years. Over 4 years even figuring 10 gallons/day. That's where we've put all our "marbles" on the water storage issue anyway. We do collect rain water too and use it for watering our plants.

I'd say you have a load of vulnerabilities with that plan that would be important to address. It doesn't take into account any nuclear or biological fall out issues, let alone a quarantine scenario, or an earthquake scenario. Back ups to back ups to back ups.

I appreciate the information. My big question is why they would want to keep this a secret. I understand if the answer is that they don't want people to panic, but wouldn't it be worse to panic after a major event when people would scramble to get water that possibly was contaminated? Wouldn't it be "better" (if you can consider it that) to tell people that a shortage might come, so that they could stock up on clean water ahead of time? Or is the situation so bad that if everyone did stock up, say, now, there wouldn't be enough for everyone to store already?
In any case, having water on hand for whatever emergency, even just household loss of water due to pipes, etc. is only prudent. Thanks again for the info.

Unfortunately, I don't believe for one moment that any "secret" keeping is being done for virtuous reasons. The government has a history of believing that the people simply can't handle the truth.*sigh*

I have linked to this article and the article on dustbowl conditions over at my blog. Thanks for giving all of us so much to think about--the more of us that are prepared, the better off we all will be, and water is a crucial element in any situation.

Newbie here...The other day I was flipping thru TV shows on cable looking for something to watch and came across the DP show on NatGeo. I had never seen it before, so found it interesting and decided to watch and I must say out of all the preppers (many of them were very helpful) I enjoyed you, Kellene, the most as you were down to earth, practical, and provided many great ways to not only provide for your own family, but help your community as well. I was not aware of prepping and the show really got me to thinking of my own situation with disaster planning. After seeing the show and how you've helped your community to be more aware not only with being prepared for disaster, but with defense and security. I had to sit up and listen, so much so I googled looking for more info and came across this site.

I must say the comments, concerns and questions here are great and helpful on what I need to do to be better prepared. This blog on water really hits it home. I say this because I lived in a small bungalow near the city of Atlanta and there were always water main breaks somewhere and we would find ourselves without water with no warning or with contaminated water. I mean you wake up to get ready for work, jump in the shower turn the knob and no water and you weren't even given notice. So I started storing water everywhere I could put it and when those no water times came, while my neighbors were all complaining, I at least had water for me and my family. Plus water prices increased, but the water supply didn't seem to get any better. I sold my house, moved further out from the city and downsized to a condo, but still put water away for 'just in case'. But then stopped storing water as I noticed the gallon jugs and bottled containers would leak thru the plastic over a period of time and I had a few mishaps. My dilemma is how to store water over a long period of time when you have to keep it in closets, under the bed, or under sinks?

Lately, I've noticed more and more reports about water shortages and increases in costs because of the strain of the old infrastructures. Since I've been in my condo, the condo board over the years have jacked up our fees because of 15-16% price increases on water by the county. Our water fees increased 15% every year for the last 3 yrs and last yr it went up 16%, plus we've had water restrictions imposed. I just got our meeting minutes from the board and now they are telling us we are getting hit with another 15% increase on water costs again this year. Pretty soon we'll be priced out the market and unable to pay and as someone said water may soon be worth more than gold. After reading all the comments, I will start saving water again, but just need to know how to do it so items won't get damaged and I don't lose the water. Sorry so long but this is getting pretty scary....

I'm sooo sooo glad you found us. There are hundreds of articles on this site so make the search bar your new best friend. Chances are, if you want to know something, I've written about it.
I wrote another article entitled "where to store all that water". If you look at that article, you'll get some sound advice for quality containers, some even created specifically to be battered with heat and cold without structural compromise.
I look forward to seeing you around here more often!

By the way I have never heard of a 'waterbob' until I saw the DP show with the guy in the NY apt. With living in a condo, space is limited and your advice on getting several to keep nearby the tub is great. I plan to purchase one for every member of my household ASAP.

I'm at day 2 for the 5 day no tap water challenge and I have noticed a couple of things and perhaps a different way to look at water. If you are fugal and you are not using dehydrated food I think you could survive on 1 gallon per day. But you will need about 2-3 gallons per day to keep the toilets flushing, laundry, washing dishes and pots and pans clean. That doesn't have to be your stored drinking water but your home will need about 10-14 gallons per week just to maintain a safe level of hygiene as long as the sewer system works. Now for a month your home needs 30-45 gallons simply to safe and sanitary and each person will need about the same for cooking and basic sanitation. So your house is like 1 or 2 additional family members as far as your water supply is concerned. I know I did not consider that when I started my test as I figured about a gallon a day. That's not counting a lawn or garden. Perhaps that will not be needed but are you willing to risk your life on it?

Kellene, I'm currently shopping for large water tanks. Do you have any recommendations on brands, styles or place to buy them?

Good insights on water disaster, we all take for granted how abundant water is but it is our very basic survival essential. I have had the same experience from my trusted mentor who is connected in high level of military told me to stock up as much water with the most firm voice like this is going to happen and not a matter if but WHEN. I too also did research on water disaster and all your bullet points seem to be consistent with mine esp #7. It is not to be gloom and doom here but always good to be aware and best prepared for yourself and family. I get all of my preparedness supplies at emergencykit411. Thank you for sharing.

I underestimated my supplies for water after the 5 day challenge as well as all the work involved. Folks you can't have too much water stored and it does not have to be potable (drinking water) stored. Sure I could take a spit bath and use 2 quarts of water and a quart of water to drink. But how do you clean with less than a quart per day? Heck I couldn't even flush my toilets with less than 1.5 gallons of water and that's just 1 flush!

The 6,000 gallon "low profile" water tank for potable water is great. They can be set up on your land for water pumped from your well, or city water. You will need a space of 12 feet across to set them on a base of sand and they must be level. We are preparing our "grey water" to be stored into to smaller tanks for the fruit trees and vegetable garden should it come to another very dry season. We live in an area considered high desert and rain levels are down. You can purchase "low profiles" in sizes smaller than ours.

It comes to mind here in Michigan the privatazation of the great lakes; something that our Gov. Rick Snyder has been pushing for since he took office.
It is just a matter of time; after that... the sky is the limit!

Hello, we have checked most of the websites that sell plastic water tanks and have noticed that most of them are priced at about $1.00 per gallon plus shipping . My wife and I wanted a large supply for us and our garden that would last a least a year!
Well we found on Amazon a above ground pool with soft sides(air filled) that holds 3750 gallons ,that gives us 5 gallons a day for the two us(1880gal.) and balance for gardening. It is round , 15ft diameter and 48″ deep, comes with pump/filter,ladder, cover for $228.00 shipped! We will filter it for drinking.
Check it out at

The ground pool is a good option so long as you aren't exposed to nuclear or bio threats, in which case your water will be compromised. At the very least, have it covered and of course have back-ups to your back-ups to your back-ups. :-)

Thank you so much Kellene for all your hard work for us. I am a little frustrated that you haven't mentioned a good gravity fed water filtration for the home. I was going to buy a Berkey, but then in your article about the 9's you said you were having other thoughts about it. I need something cost effective and will do the job. Thanks so much for you and everyone here.

I don't have 2nd thoughts about having my Big Berkey; I simply have doubts about relying on it for "worst case scenario water". I'd use something to treat it BEFORE it went into my Berkey to make sure that it lasts as long as possible without creating a colony of harmful contaminants inside the filter.

My thanks, too, Kellene and all the others who offer suggestions. I have only been into this for a little over a year and am amazed at how little I have accomplished! Water has just recently become more of an issue for us. I have had a little bottled water on hand for years but now that I am trying to prepare for at least a 90-day supply, I am looking at our home space differently. It is amazing what can be done when you put your mind to it. We are not really in a rural area but we are with a VERY small water company. A recent thunder storm decreased our water pressure by half. I do not think we can rely on this water company in any big emergency. In the ice storm of a few years ago, we had NO water. So, safe water storage is much on my mind and all this information is a great help. Thank you, again.

For those of you who remember Petite Coat Junction as a child, you will remember the cistern that sat above the railroad tracks. I recently saw them in the Kingman Arizona area when we were passing though. I estimate that they come in 500 gallons and up with stands, these can be used to collect rain water (unless your state decides the rain water belongs to them--California). This will give you a supply of water with gravity pressure into your home. I believe (don't quote me) for every foot fall is on 1lb of pressure.
On our property we have a tank that is 1250 gallons that I use to water to the cattle and horse. This amount will usually last one month for 4-5 animals even in the summer heat, we can get to 110-120 degrees for 1 to 4 weeks, and sometimes longer during summer. This tank sets on a small hillside and the PSI is 19 lbs to the house, to the livestock 8 to 10 PSI. This tank was set up original to give water to the house from our well, when we set the larger tank for the home we gave this to the livestock so no one would go without water during the worst time of the year when the water table in our well drops, and we receive less than 5 gallons per minute of recoverable water.
If you can not afford this size tank look for food containers (barrels) that companies will give to you and all you have to do is wash them. We bought two- 250 gallon tanks with metal frames and skids in Northern California. I have seen them in other places, but I could not give you a price since we bought ours before the cost of them went up.

How long will the water in the plastic gallons last from WalMart or any grocery store?

Share your thoughts on the matter

